Unseen Enemies
by RylotheanWriter
Summary: What is Arachai? Where did she come from? Why is she back? What happened?


Part 1, soon to be redone from Archai Sariana's viewpoint, while Luminara gets cut from the book.

It is a matter of life and death. Following what you want to do or what others tell you to do. Submission or insuboordinance. And sometimes, life shoots a change at you in ways you never imagined were possible.

The afternoon me and Barriss returned from Tautartun, I was immediately requested to report to the Council. However, I had not received a message from Master Yoda that Barriss was required to attend, so I left her in the hallway.

"Aren't you coming, master?" Even though she was quite grown up, she always looked like a child when it came to concern.

"No, I am afraid not." I tried to explain. "I need to meet with the rest of the council once the Padawans are asleep."

"Oh." She gave a last smile. "Good night, then." And, as ladylike as possible, she turned and headed towards her bedroom.

I kept moving forward, headed towards the Council Chambers, where the Jedi usually sat and discussed the events of that day and the upcoming. Master Ki-Adi-Mundi met me at the entryway.

"How's the Clone Wars today, Master Unduli?" He smiled gently. We both have a kind of 'attachment,' considering that he was the master that trained me to Knighthood. I hate to admit it, but even I have my attachments. Life couldn't be complete without them.

"Fine. Me and Barris cleaned up that little surprise on the fourth moon of Taurtun today."

"Wonderful." He led me into the Council room. "I am pleased to see you carry on the tradition."

"I am more pleased to see myself teaching and still being taught."

He gently pushed the doors to the council room open. I sat down in my seat between Master Yoda and Master Shaak Ti.

"Greetings." Shaak Ti asked. That was always what she said first, to anybody. Be it a battle droid or a long lost friend, that was always how she said hello. Native to her planet, I always assumed.

"How are you, Master Ti." I more greeted her then asked her how she felt, and she knew it.

"Fine, feeling better since I wrenched my ankle on Geonosis." She smiled, gently. "How is Barris?"

"Getting better at sword fighting, I am afraid. She spends more time in the training room then the archives." I answered. "I believe that she is ready for the trials soon."

"Ready for the trials you say. Hmm?" Master Yoda hobbled up to where we were chatting. "Once she has mastered your next mission, at the trials, she might be."

"A new mission?" Aayla Secura sat down next to Master Shaak Ti. "I just got back from one."

"Yes, yes." Master Yoda clambered into his small council seat. "The Council has decided to send a few choice knights to a mission."

"It's going to be a girls night out." Master Skywalker mocked.

I heard Aayla giggle, slightly. Since her Master, Quinlan Vos, was not present, she got away with a lot.

Obi-Wan Kenobi leaped into the room. "The party has arrived!" He took his seat next to Master Windu. "Let's get this thing started."

"Not yet." Mace Windu gently admonished him. "We are still missing someone."

"Missing?" Yoda gave him a quizzical look. "Missing, you say. Who, might I ask, is missing?"

"A newer member of the Council." Master Windu cryptically answered. "Master Archai Sariana."

"Master who?" Aayla Secura crossed her legs and leaned forward in her seat.

The door burst open. The female arachnid being swapped from six arms to two in a split second. "Sorry I am late, Master Windu. Forgot my way to the council room."

"Whoa!" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi arched an eyebrow, obviously impressed.

She wore the typical Jedi apparel. Long, billowing, flowy skirt, with a fringed end and a ceremonial top piece. As a matter of fact, if she were in a Jedi long robe with a hood, there would be almost no telling her apart from Master Shaak Ti and me.

Her hair was pulled back into a rather pathetic ponytail that resembled a Padawans. She wore a strip of embroidered animal hide tied around her head as a headband. Her long skirt concealed her boots, and her eyes were purple. Now, my eyes are blue, and brown tends to run in the Jedi Order. But when I say that I have never seen purple eyes like this I mean it.

"What in the name of the Force is an arachnid?" Anakin Skywalker blurted out rudely.

"Master Skywalker! Never use the name of the Force like that." Mace Windu chided. "It is improper."

Anakin always made me curious. On the battlefield, he was a real perfectionist. However, when he was at the temple, he continually showed insuboordinance and lack of professionalism. As a Master myself, even I would have known that using the name of the Force in that manner was wrong.

Walking around the room at an ambling pace, she explained herself. "An Arachnid, Master Skywalker, is a humanoid changeling-being from a planet that you obviously do not know about." She stopped in front of Anakin's seat. "Maybe you need to pay attention to your studies."

Archai took the last seat in the corner next to Plo Kloon. As soon as she did, it was all business.

Mace Windu left his seat and stood in the center of the circle. "May the Council be informed," He paused, staring at Archai Sariana. "That we have a new member."

Archai stood up to greet the rest of the crowd as Mace Windu sat back down. "It was a long time ago, but I am sure that Master Yoda will remember." She began, pausing to look at Master Yoda.

"Remember, I do. Left us, you did." He chimed in.

She smiled, squeamishly. I sensed that there was something else, something deeper going on. "I left because I never truly belonged here, but, now, things have changed."

'Liar.' It dawned on me. I turned to face Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, cautiously.

'Is it the truth?' I heard Master Windu's gentle voice in my head. 'Is what she said the truth?'

'Give her a chance.' A light, breathy voice answered from Master Tachi. 'Give her a chance to prove her story.'

I noticed that the Council room had grown strangely quiet. All of the Master's, instead of just talking about what Master Sariana said, they were passing messages to one another using the Force.

Then, interrupting the dead silence that wafted through the room. Aayla asked a question. "Is that it then?"

"We have yet to discuss the mission." Mace Windu stood up, gesturing for Archai to sit back in her seat. Sariana obeyed and sat down. "The knights chosen are-"

"Explain the mission first." Aayla smirked. "It makes it easier to digest."

"As you wish, Master Secura." Mace Windu shook his head. "All of the mission leaders are to land their troops on the planet Iego," he motioned to a R3 unit in the corner. "We received this transmission a little less than 4 hours ago."

A blue holographic image displayed from the Astromech droid that was in the corner. The figure of a girl clothed in white, flowing robes appeared on the screen.

"I am princess Myriam Chan, advocate and ruler of the angels on the tenth moon of Iego." I had heard stories of Diathim angels that used to dwell on Millius Prime." As a child, and had never believed for a minute that this species had existed. She was bright, shining like a moon itself, and she was almost translucent as she spoke.

"We are alone, captured, and in pain. Master Jedi, you must send a few of your peace keepers to Iego to help." Her voice carried a light whispering tune, as though she was a character from a fairy tale, not a desperate fugitive of war. "I have seen that one was sent already, but have been unable to confront him because of," she lifted her arms to show heavy metal shackles, "complications."

I heard Secura gasp.

"Send help, wherever you are. The rest of us who remain on Millius Prime will repay you for your generous services as soon as we can."

"Send for Darth Fume immediately!" The image displayed an electronic battle droid with yellow markings on the head. "Prisoner escape!"

Two destroyer droids rolled out on their shiny, blue bodies like giant beetles pulled their guns on the already chained up Diathim. "Lead her back to the stalls, corporal."

"Rodger, rodger."

The camera went black.

"Darth Fume, Hmm?" Master Yoda cocked his small head. "More going on in Iego, I believe, then the message reveals."

"I have sent a knight to go and investigate the doings on Iego, and he has reached the planet and sent us this message." Master Windu pulled a small recorder off of his belt.

"I have reached Iego, Master. There is no question of the Sith's presence on this moon, which is the tenth in line that follows Iego." Master Agen Kolar, a Zabrak with short horns and tan skin materialized on the displayer module. "I have located were the Princess Myriam is being held, and developed a bust in plan. Are you ready?"

"We are ready, Master Kolar." Ki-Adi-Mundi answered. "Relay your information."

"Are the specific Jedi that are to complete this mission present?" He asked politely.

Master Windu nodded, and then Kolar continued his message. "Underground." He paused, pointing to a hole that was blocked by a metal disk. "Under the earth is where you will find the Diathim. If you can make it into this place, you have a high chance at rescuing them."

"The droids are working under a mysterious Darth Fume, and everything else, the prisoners, and the communications are controlled by a mysterious being. I wish I could show you all that I have found, but there could be prying eyes."

"As you wish, Master Kolar." The image of the Zabrak disintegrated, instantly. Mace Windu turned to face the Council.

"Those chosen for this mission are: Master Shaak Ti, Master Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, and Jedi Knight Aayla Secura," He paused and gazed in Archai's direction. "Master Sariana."

"Me?" Archai stood up from her seat. "You have chosen me to go with them?"

"Woo hoo!" Anakin hooted. "This one really is a girls night out."

"It is an honor to work with a legend." Barriss respectfully bowed to Sariana. "I am deeply touched."

"As am I," Sariana stood up from her seat and bowed to Master Mace Windu and to Master Yoda.

I gave Master Ki-Adi an odd look. Had they all forgotten what Sariana said? What messages that they had traded about her?

She was a liar! And she had lied to get this far! My eyes filled with a visible fire as I turned to face Master Windu.

"You may now leave." Master Windu motioned at the door, using the Force to make it open. "Council adjourned."

Master Yoda stopped me as I got up to leave. "Master Unduli," He addressed me in his scratchy voice. "Nervous, you are, about Aayla?"

Sometimes they really did know everything. "Well, a little." I admitted.

"Treat her as your own Padawan." Master Yoda reminded me. He turned on his tiny green feet and hobbled away. His brown walking stick clicking on the floor.

"Awesome." Aayla Secura left the Council room and closed the door behind her. "It will be nice to work with Archai, she seems fun."

Shaak Ti followed Aayla to the Padawan Training room. Aayla opened the door. "Do you want to train with me?"

"No, thank you. I have an appointment to train some Younglings." Shaak Ti politely refused. "Pass the message to the others; meet in the main hangar at 10:00 am."

"Wow, that's called getting an early start at things." Aayla yawned and went to close the door. "Anyway, I need to brush up." She waved me a goodbye. "Later."

Aayla closed the door to the training room. "Lets' get this over with." Since her Master, Quinlan Vos, was posted on a long-term mission, she saw to her training personally.

Archai left the training room and hurried to her bedroom. "The sooner I get to my room the better."

As soon as she got there, she locked her door and threw herself onto her bed. "Working with Aayla is going to be pure Mustafarian lava." She vented her anger to herself.

I followed behind Archai until she reached her room. Ducking, I squeezed myself behind a pillar that was close to the wall. I heard the door slam.

Quietly, I sneaked over to the locked door and pressed my ear against it. "Aayla is so saucy!"

_BLAM!_

I jumped backwards when I heard something hit the door. The sound of a shattering vase must have echoed thru ought the entire temple, because it was only a matter of time until Barriss found me.

"Master?" She tapped me gently on the shoulder.

"Barriss!" I whirled around and nearly lost my balance. "What are you doing awake?"

"Master, its morning." She smiled, gently.

"What!" I ran to the nearest window in the temple. Sure enough, the sun was just shining through a nearby cloud. The Council meeting must have eaten up the remainder of the night.

"Sorry, Barriss. I lost track of the time." I patted her on the shoulder. "Did you already practice your morning saber skills?"

"I couldn't, Master. Aayla sent me out." She shrugged. "Did you get chosen for the mission?"

'_Mission.' _ I read the clock that hung on the wall nearest to Archai's room. 7:00, luckily. "Pack your things, and meet me in the main hangar at 10:00."

"You got chosen?" I could tell that she was enthusiastic.

"Of course." I gently pushed her towards her room. "Me and some friends. Go get ready."

"Sure!" She ran off towards her room.

_CRASH! _

The loud noise redirected my ear to the door. "I hate her!" I heard Sariana start to cry. "It was her fault I left."

I cracked open the door. "Need any help cleaning up that broken vase?"

She jumped off her bed and brushed herself off. "No, thank you. Aren't you supposed to knock first?" she retorted angrily.

"Even Master Yoda would open the door if he heard what you were exploding about." I gently smiled and sat down next to her on her bed. "What do you have against Aayla?"

"What do you have against her?" She frowned and turned away from me.

"Nothing. What's to be mad at her about?"

"You first. You heard what I said." She sniffed.

I lifted up her chin with a finger. "I don't talk to people that aren't looking at me." I smiled gently at her. I have used that gentle smile to coax the unwilling into submission many times. I was doubtless she would refuse my invitation to explain her anger.

"She is just so… Twi'lek." A small tear fell down her cheek, and I burst out laughing. I couldn't resist. All of this anger just because she hated her friends species and style? "What?"

"Come, follow me to the Jedi Archive room." I gently led her hand towards the door. "Let's see something together."

"What are you doing?" She hesitated, and then followed me to the information room. On my way out, I looked at the clock. 7:36.

I led her across a wide hallway, and into an expansive room filled with computers. "Here we are."

I sat down at the nearest desk. I typed in Aayla's' species and led her to sit down next to me.

I read out loud the entry about Ryloth and the Twi'lek species.

TWI'LEK-

A SPECIES GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SLAVE TRADE. SINCE RYLOTH'S SPICE MINES OF RYL WERE STOLEN BY SLUMLORDS YEARS AGO, THIS SPECIES HAS BEEN SOLD AROUND THE GALAXY FOR …

I didn't need to continue. "I believe what you dislike about Master Secura is her street-smart style. You're just jealous that you weren't trained the same. Her training took a downward spiral when Master Quinlan Vos left the order years ago. You should be proud that she made it this far."

"Jealous? Me? I already said that I hate working with her. So just…" She stopped, frustrated. "Just;"

"Is there a problem?" Jocasta Nu, the keeper of the Archives, tapped me on the shoulder.

"No, thank you." Archai turned to walk out of the archive room. I stood up and put my hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Just, think about it." She pushed my hand off of her and stormed out of the room.

Jocasta Nu left as suddenly as she did, and I was alone. I whirled to face a huge clock that hung on the blank walls of the archive room. 8:00 am.

"Barriss should be looking for me now." I got up and ran to my bedroom. There is never that much you need to pack for a mission. I clipped my light saber to my utility belt, stuffed a few things in an empty bag, and ran down the hallway.

I ran straight into Barriss. "Are you ready master?" She was so eager, so happy to be finally on another mission with me.

"More or less," I turned to face a clock that was in my bedroom. "Perfect, 8:30. That's what I call being packed early."

Barriss and me walked toward the hangar at an ambling pace. "You know, Barriss-"

I was cut off as Aayla ran past me, at full speed. "What did I do!?" She yelled as she shot into her bedroom, slammed, and then locked the door.

"You can't hide forever!" Then, as I could have guessed, Archai Sariana turned a corner and ran straight towards Aayla's room. "I demand you face me!"

"Wait! We can work this out!" Aayla's frantic voice yelled from inside of her room. "What have I ever done to hurt you!?"

"Curse these infernal skirts." Archai had stepped on the hem of her ornate outfit and almost tripped. "Open this door!"

"I refuse to!"

"Fine!" Archai whipped out her light saber and activated the lethal weapon. "I'll kill you where you stand!"

"Whoa!" I ran over to Archai and stole the green light saber from her hand. "Hold it!"

I somersaulted overhead and landed adeptly next to her side.

"I'll get to the hangar." Barriss turned and walked away from the scene.

"What is your problem?!" Aayla pressed herself against the back of her door.

"Stay where you are, Secura." I whirled to face Archai; her light saber was still in my hand. "What in the blazing fires of Mustafar is going on here?"

Archai turned away, her face full of anger. "I can't do it anymore, Unduli. I simply can't put up with her."

"You didn't specify why!" Aayla opened the door to her room and poked her head out. "Why?"

"Because you are so nasty!" She hollered, angrily. The action was too quick for me to handle. Aayla sucked her head back into the door, but one of her brain tails wasn't fast enough. Archai slammed the door. Aayla gave a loud, piercing scream that bounced off of the walls. I heard a sickening thud from the other side of the door.

I pushed Archai away from the door and opened it, gently. Aayla was on the floor, passed out. It seemed to be that the upper part of her Lekku had gotten caught. Archai ran away from us, leaving me to fend for her by myself.

I pressed a series of buttons on my belt, and soon heard Master Yoda's voice crackle over the line. "Left yet, you have not, Master Luminara. What was that noise I heard?"

"Send Jocasta up, please." I shut off my intercom. I began pressing on Aayla's chest so that she would breathe. As soon as Jocasta Nu arrived, I had her breathing and sitting up.

"What did you need me for, Master Luminara?" Her voice carried a light, cheery note.

"Nothing. I mean, not now anyways." I motioned for her to leave the room.

"What happened?" Aayla sat up and shook her head. She started to gently massage her wound.

"You Lekku got caught in the door." My eyes darted to a clock on the wall. 9:00 already!

"Can you stand up?"

"Yeah, kind of." Aayla took my hand as I helped her off of the floor.

"We need to get to the hangar."

As soon as I left the room, leading Aayla, I ran straight into Barriss. "Let's not be late!"

Aayla shook her head and let go of my hand. "I can't hold you two up," she smiled. "Let's run."

We all ran as fast as we could towards the main hangar. By the time that we got there, Shaak Ti and Archai Sariana were packing up their things into their ships.

"Wonderful, you made it." Shaak Ti motioned to Aayla's ships and me. "Get your things packed."

Aayla walked past where Archai was packing her things into her ship. They both met eyes for a split second, and then Archai turned away. "Hey," Aayla put her hand on Archai's shoulder, gently. "It was just an accident, nothing to keep a grudge about."

Archai rolled her eyes and pushed Aayla's friendly hand off of her. "Go away."

"Yikes." Aayla leaped into her small, agile star cruiser and began to check the controls for activity.

Barriss and me were putting our things in the seat cabins and such when I noticed something was missing. "Barriss, have you seen my light saber?"

Barriss shook her head and turned to Shaak Ti, who was inside of her cockpit, bent over the controls.

"Hey, I haven't flown in awhile. Is this switch for the light board or the motor?" She hopped out and walked over to where we both stood. "What's the matter?"

"Master Luminara's light saber is missing." Barriss quietly added. "Have you seen it anywhere?"

"No, not yet." Shaak Ti shook her head. "Ask Aayla, maybe she has it."

"Hmm." I ran over to where Aayla sat in her cockpit. "Have you seen my light saber?"

"Tchah! Found a saber on the floor of my room when I stood up." She passed it to me. "Take care of it."

As soon as I got back into my ship, Shaak Ti and Archai were ready to go. "Okay for takeoff." Aayla slipped her piloting helmet over her Lekku and then shot me a thumbs up. I settled into my cockpit.

"Twin that," Shaak Ti's patient voice bust through my intercom. "Ready, Spidergirl?"

"Ready to fly." I answered before Archai could. All four light, agile Jedi craft lifted off the platform with a glorious noise.

I slipped my lightweight pilot headset over my head. We were flying in a straight line, my front guns almost touching Archai's engine. "Barriss, can you tell me who is in what ship?" I knew that she didn't know, but I would be surprised if she could use the Force to tell.

"Umm… I think Archai is in front of us, the blue one ahead of that is Aayla's, and Shaak Ti is leading."

"Good work." I praised her. I held a button on my headset. "Redcode, are you responding? Set your coordinates for Iego."

"Redcode just set coordinates for Iego." Shaak Ti responded. "BlueForce, caught out of line."

"BlueForce here, sorry." I heard Aayla answer Master Ti. "Everyone else, in line? Not Greentwin, Spidergirl?"

"That's us, Barriss. Greentwin. Keep that in mind… you're in charge of the intercom. I have to fly."

"Spidergirl, checking in. Why am I called that?" Archai's voice carried a hint of insecurity.

"Redcode, shut it and fly." Shaak Ti, usually a patient and kind master, had given the command. The whole fleet flew on in silence for at least 3 hours until Iego was in sight.

All four of the sleek, agile Jedi cruisers shot through the air in perfect formation like arrows from a bow. We passed other systems, planets, and more ships then even Barriss could count. About three hours later, a static voice crackled over my intercom.

"BlueForce, checking in. Iego in sight." Aayla sounded like she yawned as she said it. "Is anyone asleep?"

"Spidergirl responding. Let's do this thing."

"Redcode here, Greentwin?"

"All systems go!" I gave the code for the landing gear to be put out as we went through the planet's atmosphere. We all spaced out, landing about twenty feet apart from each other.

Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti were already out of their ships when Barriss and me left our ship. "Where's Archai?" Shaak Ti scanned the sky with high-powered binoculars.

"I don't know." Aayla shrugged. "Hey, Shaak Ti, did you send for those clones before we left?"

"Only a couple hundred, but where is Sariana?" Shaak Ti turned to Barriss and me. "Did you hear anything from her after we went through the atmosphere?"

"No, did you?" Shaak Ti did not get to answer us because of the extremely loud noise of a clone ship landing nearby.

"There's Bly and Gree." Aayla winked at me. "Always on time." She turned and ran towards the huge freighter-like ship that probably carried hundreds of clone troopers. Even I could feel a sense of excitement and stir from them, and I was standing at least 1,000 feet away.

"Its like getting friends for a present!" Aayla knocked on the closed hatch of the compartment. "Jedi requesting presence."

"Which Jedi?" It sounded like Bly responding from the inside. Barriss and me followed Shaak Ti towards the huge ship. "Aayla?"

"Who else, Bly." She rested her elbow on the door. Right then, as if on cue, the door opened. Aayla jumped backwards. A strong, rough looking clone trooper with dusty white armor and yellow commander coloring stood at the door.

"Nice to see you again." Aayla picked herself off of the ground. "Ready for action?"

"More ready then I'll ever be." He stepped off of the freighter and put on his helmet. "I was told to bring another commander with me, in case the party split up. Master Shaak Ti chose Gree."

He motioned to another trooper that had just stepped out of the landing craft. The only difference with this clone trooper was his green commander coloring.

"Perfect." I gave Barriss a reassuring smile. "So, hopefully, there won't be any splitting up this time. Barriss is going to be sticking with you guys, a bit behind us."

"Bly, like on Geonosis." Secura winked at him. Even as a Knight, Secura had already been made a Jedi General, under her Master's consent at the first battle of Geonosis.

Shaak Ti carried on. "I trust Gree the slightest bit more, so he should lead in the front. Bly, you keep up the back, and Barriss can keep up with Gree. Right now, were missing a Jedi, so keep a sharp eye."

"I guess that's all, so let's press for that rock outcropping by tonight." Shaak Ti pointed to a jutting series of rock on the large spanse of sand. "Looks like we arrived at morning."

With that, we started off. It seemed as though Barriss was trying to strike up a conversation with Gree at first, but he had never been one for that, so he ignored her. After about an hour, she quit trying and fell back a bit more until she was out of sight.

Shaak Ti, Aayla and me were more looking for footprints or something, any sign of life. Archai should be on this planet, and so should Myriam and any of her people. I pulled a small, round camera out of my pocket.

"What now, Unduli?" Aayla flicked her Lekku off of her shoulder dramatically.

"A little spy work." I pulled a blocking strip out of the camera and threw it into the air. "On Barriss."

"Sounds fun." Aayla answered.

"Let's press on." Shaak Ti shielded her face with her hand and pointed towards the rocks. "They seem to be getting closer."

"I'll go check on Barriss for you, Unduli." Aayla asked, but more told me what she wanted to do. "Can I?"

"Sure." I rolled my eyes and kept plodding on ahead. "Tell me what she is up to."

Aayla ran off, the high heels on her boots kicking up sand from the ground and flicking it into the air. I laughed as she almost tripped twice. She disappeared between a crowd of clone troopers.

We kept on moving. Our only hope that those rocks might be where the Sith that is here is keeping Myriam. Or maybe the Sith is making something there, something that that they have planned against us.

My mind rolled on as we kept walking. Trudging through endless miles of sand. You could still see our ships behind us, and the gigantic transport that Bly and Gree had used to get here.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of a light saber being activated behind me.

"One move and she dies."

I spun on my heel in the sand. My first thought being that whoever stood behind me might be holding Barriss under the blade.

Shaak Ti gasped. A tall figure clothed in a long, black cape had Aayla on her knees. Secura's back was pressed against the chest of this looming person, and a deadly red-bladed light saber was slipped under Aayla's neck, forcing her to push her head back, into the strangers' chest.

I watched, helplessly, as Aayla's Lekku twitched, nervously. She frantically stared at Shaak Ti, and it seemed as though they were talking, somehow.

Aayla weighed the situation and blurted out the specifics. "Don't worry about me! Save Barriss! She ran off and is-" She was cut off by the deadly blade being pressed closer to her neck.

"Save your friend or your Padawan…" The eerie figure pulled out a hologram displayer and activated it in front of us.

Barriss appeared on the displayer with two clone troopers by her side. They were firing relentlessly at something as bullets shot down one of them. Aware of the situation, Barriss drew her light saber in an attempt to deflect the oncoming bullet stream. The clone trooper next to her fell.

Shaak Ti and me stood, rooted to the spot, watching this duel ensue. Barriss eventually fell under the heavy fire, and then the hologram went blank.

I faced Aayla, and she mouthed a small sentence to me. "It's Archai, behind me."

"Your choice." As soon as I realized what Aayla meant, it suddenly made sense to me! "I haven't got long to wait, so either run to find your learner or duel me here."

"Where is Barriss!" I yelled at the mysterious hooded figure. "What have you done with her?"

"Dead." I had heard that voice before. It was deep, but breathy. Temperamental, and cruel.

Shaak Ti and I simultaneously activated our light sabers. "I'll duel you here, Archai."

In one swift move, she had pushed Aayla to the ground, stepped on her Lekku, and made her pass out again. She stood before us, her red light saber taunting me. "I have waited a long time for this."

I twisted so that my light saber clashed against hers, but not that hard. She cut at me, swiftly, but I jumped back and Shaak Ti hit her blade instead.

I kept forgetting that she was an arachnid. She morphed into a six armed humanoid and grabbed all six of her blades. The red sabers divided into teams of two. Half hit Shaak Ti's green blade, and the other half hit mine.

Shaak Ti spinned, hit the three blades, and then cut downwards. One of the blades fell into the sand. I went for a more Ataru move and was soon hitting the blades just as ferociously as Master Ti was. It really did make a terrific crash whenever our blades hit the red sabers at the same time.

Soon, I wasn't fighting one half of Archai, we were back to back, hitting and cutting at the blades together. I wasn't watching Aayla, me and Shaak Ti were too busy for that. She must have come to halfway through the fight, because one minute we were together, and the next minute there were three of us. Archai wasn't even walking or twisting, we simply fought the five arms as hard as we could. Aayla activated her blue blade and hopped in from behind us.

"Did I miss anything?" I twisted and hit the blades again, barely seeing who spoke.

"Aayla!" Shaak Ti turned to face her at the same time. She pointed to two blades that seemed to be swinging slower than the rest. "Take those two."

I knew that this was going to be good. Two blades against Jar'Kai was nothing to Aayla.

She started in her attack position, and then hit the blades, twisted around, spun, and two blades hit the sandy floor. She bent down to pick them up. "Luminara!" I spun to face her and caught the light saber that she tossed to me. "Hit her with this!"

Archai did not seem to be losing hands; she just seemed to be dropping the sabers right before our blade cut into her flesh. The three empty hands supported the other trio of deadly red sabers.

We were still fighting a few minutes later when Shaak Ti really did cut through flesh. Archai had been left with only one light saber and whenever she had dropped a blade, Aayla would toss it to me or Shaak Ti until we all had two sabers.

Aayla hit one of the sabers with a backwards Jar'kai twist as Archai screamed and let go of the last blade. Archai's severed hand fell to the ground, still gripping a now bloody saber hilt.

"I didn't want to do it." Aayla backed away as Shaak Ti and me supported Archai. "I didn't want to hurt you." She continued taking steps backwards.

"Secura, calm down." Master Shaak Ti reminded her. Turning to me, abruptly, with Archai hanging limply off of her shoulder, she motioned to a handful of troopers.

"Unduli, let's get Sariana back to our ship, I am sure that she has lots to tell us." I sighed. It was a long way back to the ship.

"Um, what if Aayla led the troops onward?" I countered, not wanting to lose an entire day of walking. "She could stay here, and then we could take Archai back with the extra troops. We can get back here with our cruisers later, if we need to."

"I can do that." Aayla met Shaak Ti in the eyes.

"I know that you can, but I need you to help me with Archai. Maybe I should be the one to stay." Master Ti asked us, still supporting Archai on her shoulder.

"You stay," I flipped out a miniature floating camera and tossed it into the air. "We can go." I pulled out a small pad that had a screen on it. I pushed a button on the side. "Delta-466-Echo, don't forget to return my calls."

"Understood." Master Ti passed me Archai. "Let's move out." Shaak Ti signaled a few of Gree's top troopers to follow us back to the ship.

Me and Aayla hauled the unconscious Archai halfway back to the ship. I suddenly heard Sariana stop breathing. "Stop." I laid Archai's cold head down on the sand.

Aayla took two steps away from where I laid her down. I flicked my wrist at a young trooper that had followed us there under Ti's request. "Check her up, Tailer."

Tailer was a new trooper that had been placed in Gree's battalion a few days ago before the mission started. Shy and easily startled, he had been chosen as the healer that would follow my battalion. He laid his hands on her chest and listened to her heart beat.

He sat up, quickly and checked her wrist. Then, as if in slow motion, he stood up and removed his helmet to show two red strips placed on his scalp. "She is gone, General. Far gone."

"No!" Aayla sank to the ground on her knees. She put her head in her hands. "She can't be!"

So much attachment. So much emotion. Secura ought to be more careful of that. "Aayla, if Vos was here, what would he tell you?"

"He would let me cry it out." Aayla sniffed.

I shook my head. "I am not Vos." I sat down next to her. "Aayla, we have to leave her here. She was gone the second we left."

Aayla was still sobbing. Tailer looked at me, confused. I realized that we needed to head back to where they were waiting for us before dark fell. There may be Gutkuurs or worse prowling around after dark.

"Aayla," I knelt down in the sand next to her as she pulled off Archai's headband. "We cannot ask why fate unwinds the way that it does. It is as though asking why the Universe was created."

She tucked the headband into her belt as gently as she could. "I understand."

Tailer put his arm out, to help her up. "Let's move on before night falls." We all got up off of the ground, leaving Sariana on the sand. I heard Tailer whisper something to his fellow men.

"Okay, men. This is when your training comes into play." They all lined up, uneasily. "What should I call you by?"

"I'm Tailer." A clone in white, battle scarred armor volunteered. "They call me that because I fly my ship in the back of the line."

"Flincher." A similar trooper spoke up. "I was named for my superb dodging skills."

"I'm Pop, and he's Track." A clone in shiny white armor added. "Track can hunt down absolutely anything, and they call me Pop because of my gun." He held up a DC-14 blaster. "It kind of makes a funny sound when it shoots."

"Nick." Another trooper introduced himself. "Note the scar on my armor." He pointed to a slash that looked like a light saber blade mark on his shoulder pad.

"My name is Jinx." He sounded older, more experienced than the rest of them. "These shinies back me up when we get separated from Gree and Bly. We're a team."

"He's convinced everything's cursed." I heard Tailer mumble. "It's a superstitious obsession."

"Not everything." Jinx shook his head. "I'll explain later, for now, let's get out of here."

(Friends, I hope that you recall the Curse of Drol on the moon of Iego. If not, research it.)

Aayla and me led the small troop of clones onward as the light began to fade. I could hear the growls and screeches of sand dragons and other beasts. Shaak Ti and her troopers were just around that rock, way out there…

We had no hope of reaching that space tonight. What were our options? To sleep outside?

"We had better rest here for the night." I explained. Tailer took off his helmet.

"Gives me the creeps." Flincher spread out a blanket from his back pack. "Gutkuurs could be anywhere."

All of the clones bedded down for the night with blankets from their packs. Aayla didn't mind sleeping in the sand, but Nick gave her his blanket anyway, sharing a tarp with Pop. I split the makeshift bed with Aayla.

I laid down my head on the thick, black, cover and tilted my head towards the stars. Although there were many stars in the sky, there were also other planets. Saleukami, Rhodia, Mirial, and Ryloth were all out there too. Visible as oddly colored stars and Rhodia as the planet that it was.

"Beautiful," I breathed to myself as my eyes closed.

I slept well that night and woke up right as Aayla did. "Good morning, everyone." I sat up and stretched. "Did everyone sleep well?"

"Well enough." Jinx put his helmet back on.

I did a head count to make sure that everyone in the party was there. "Master Unduli, how long will it take us to reach Shaak Ti?" Aayla asked, rubbing her eyes.

"There's only one way to find out." I shielded my eyes from the glare on the sand. "We need to catch up with them."

"Oh…" I heard Aayla gasp. "Should we leave her… like that?"

I looked to where she was pointing. Some beast, probably a sand dragon, had been chewing on Sariana sometime last night. It wasn't a pretty mess.

"Of course not." I motioned to Nick and Pop. "Go and cover that up."

They laid their tarps over Sariana, respectfully, and then turned to catch up with us. "Horrible night dragons." I heard Jinx mumble under his breath.

We all pressed on, towards the outcropping that Shaak Ti was headed to. We could almost see her group, trudging across the sand far, far ahead of us. Track found some imprints of a fellow trooper's boot. A good sign that we were on the right path.

Aayla was often staring out into the horizon. She never responded to me or Jinx, and I had to remind her to eat when we all stopped for breakfast. "Aayla," I stopped her as we were getting up. "What is bothering you?"

I don't know how Vos managed to handle such an emotional Padawan. Barriss was practically made of stone when it came to things like this, but, that was largely due to all of our lessons and meditations. Aayla was not like her at all!

She exploded into tears as I shrunk back, surprised. "I killed her, Master!" I should have known she would blame it on herself. "She was a Jedi, a friend! It was not right!"

"Secura," I sighed, trying to find the words to explain. I watched as she pulled out the headband that she had taken from Sariana's body. "Archai had turned to the Sith when you finished her." I stumbled for words. "It was your duty."

Flincher and Jinx stopped, noticing that we had. The rest of the troopers waited for us, just a little ahead of where we sat. "Does that mean she is still alive in the Force?" Aayla put away the hair tie. "Will I be able to talk to her again?"

Snarp. Sometimes you wish you could be anywhere else but where you are right now. 'Treat her like she is your own.' Master Yoda's voice reminded me.

"She turned, Aayla. There will be no life after death for her." I tried to sound firm, but caring. "I need you to try something for me."

"What?" She wiped her face.

"Can you access the Force and calm your emotions?" I asked her as kindly as I could. "Emotion is controlled by the Jedi."

She closed her eyes, gently, and sighed. I felt her calm down, immensely, and then she stood up. I got off of the sand, where I had been kneeling next to her. "Better?"

"Thank you, Master." She said appreciatively.

"Let's move on." I got to the head of the pack of troopers and we left. Jinx was right behind me, and then the rest kind of followed us. I heard Nick and Pop talking, quietly.

"Were should be almost there." Track reminded me as we passed a clearing filled with tracks. This was probably where they bedded down for the night.

It was nearing the afternoon by the time that we ran across a clone trooper from Shaak Ti's group. "They call me Grease." He introduced himself to me. "General Ti left me here to show you the way. Are you up for it?"

"More than ever," Jinx stepped forward. "Lead on."

Grease and Jinx led the way around the rock mountain that we had been trying to reach ever since we started. As soon as he rounded the corner, there was a large hole in the ground. "Go in." He commanded.

Aayla hopped in first, and then each of the troopers. Pop, Tailer, Nick, Flincher, Track, Jinx, and finally Grease before I jumped in. It was a long, dark hallway. "General Ti led us this way." He ran towards an opening at the end of the cavern.

He led us through a maze of tunnels. With each sharp turn, the light seemed to go darker and darker. "This way…" He assured us as we passed the first opening I had seen yet. I poked my head into the dark, dusty room.

It was completely empty. Disappointed, I continued to follow Grease and Jinx until we entered a large room. "You found us!" Master Shaak Ti stood up from where she had been sitting on the floor. "I was afraid Grease would get you lost in those tunnels."

Commander Gree and Bly were assisting wounded men in a corner. Bly called for Tailer. "We need your medical pack!" Tailer rushed over to where six or seven clones were laid out on the floor. He unstrapped his back pack and then helped wrap up a bullet wound.

"So, Master, what's the plan?" Aayla asked Master Ti respectfully. "Didn't Agen Kolar give us a layout?"

Shaak Ti pulled a holocron recorder out of her belt. "Here we are." She activated the small chip.

A image of Master Kolar, a Zabrak from Nar Shadda, appeared on the projector. "Travel down the tunnel until you reach a wide, open room, and then turn left. Go on till you reach a small conference room, and then scan the transmitters for messages. Forward those messages to me, if there are any."

Shaak Ti paused the projector. "Let's get to that conference room first." She motioned to the commanders Gree and Bly.

"Come on men, let's move out." Bly ordered as the troopers fell in line behind them.

Aayla decided to lead Bly, and I took Gree. Shaak Ti stayed with me in the front. Gree and Bly both had around 30 men each, which was a lot to squeeze into the tiny corridors. We managed, however, and finally made it to the conference room that Kolar had mentioned.

Chip, a clone trooper, hacked into the system and found one message. The picture of a Zabrak with black face paint under his eyes showed up on the projector. His horns were a brown color and his short hair was pushed out of his face and behind the short horns on his forehead. His robes were a black color, identifying him as a Sith.

"Jedi have broken into our hideaway, my apprentice learner. It is up to you to do away with them, however you see fit. This will be your final test, young one, and then I will present you to my Master. Retransmit this message to Coruscant."

He paused, and then added a important attachment. "The Jedi that broke in will soon be annihilated, my lord. I promise that what happened will be kept secret, and our base will be abandoned. I have let loose the Diathim, and I will meet you soon. My Padawan will make you proud, Master." His image disappeared.

His voice had a sickening calmness to it. "I wonder who his Master is." Aayla shuddered, "and which person this message was intended for."

"Archai." I whispered, and Shaak Ti turned to face me.

"Archai was this Zabrak's apprentice?" Aayla asked me. "My best friend," She stared at the floor. "A Sith?"

"It's possible." Shaak Ti commented. "This message was sent about two days ago."

"Chip, forward that message to Coruscant." Bly ordered. Chip pressed a series of buttons on the side of the computer.

"Yes, sir." Chip replied.

"You three," Gree pointed to Jinx, Tailer, and Nick, "go check the holding cells in the back of this place. If the Diathim were let go, they should be empty."

"Good call," I complimented Gree as the trio ran off down the hallway.

"Thanks, General." He bowed respectfully. "Should we finish watching the message from General Kolar?"

"I think all that we need is laid out for us, Gree. Kolar didn't know that the Diathim were released." I explained.

"They're gone, Commander." Jinx came out of the dark hallway, with Tailer and Nick behind him. "Doors wide open and all."

"That Zabrak kept his word." Aayla walked up to me and Gree. I use the word walk in its broadest sense of the word, because, as anyone knows, Aayla's walk is more of a swagger. She wears high-heeled boots that accent her Twi'lek personality.

"If the base was abandoned…" Bly thought out loud to himself. "Wouldn't they destroy it?"

"Hup!" Gree shouted. "Everybody! Let's get to the surface! MOVE!" He yelled to his men.

We all ran back through the hallway, leaving the conference room and heading back through the tunnels. "Go, go, go!" I heard Gree shouting to his men.

I was the first one to reach the surface after clambering out of the hole. All of the troopers pushed me up on their shoulders. Jinx, Nick, Tailer, Gree, Bly, Flincher, Pop, Track, and all of the other clones came up out of the hole. Aayla and Shaak Ti were last.

"Is that everyone?" I heard Gree call once Shaak Ti hoisted herself out of the hole.

"Wait!" I heard a voice call from inside of the hole. I ran over to where we had all come from and poked my head over the opening.

"Grease?" I asked. Sure enough, we had all helped one another out of the hole, lifting each other up the 9 feet out. But Grease, last in line, had no way of getting out. I heard a faint beeping noise.

"That's the ticker!" Bly observed, grabbing the nearest trooper to him and throwing him to the ground. "Away from the hole! Hit the dirt!" No one dared disobey.

As soon as he said it, the underworld exploded. An earsplitting crash echoed throughout the desert. As soon as the dust settled from the explosion, I sat up.

"General," Track nudged me on the shoulder, holding out a long piece of rope. Gree walked up to where he was sitting.

He sighed and shook his head. "He could have been saved."

"Don't take it so hard, Gree." Bly patted him on the shoulder, comfortingly. "There wasn't any time."

The scene reminded me of what Aayla and I had been going through just yesterday afternoon. Only, this Commander had a duty to each of his men, something that no clone took lightly. Heck, I can't think of any living thing that took it lightly.

"So, does that make this mission over? I mean, we came to free the Diathim, but, they are gone…" Aayla asked me.

"Of course its not!" I yelled at her. "What about Barriss!"

No sooner had I asked, then Track shouted for help. "Hey, I think I found something." He beckoned to Jinx and Nick. "What do you suppose left these prints?"

He pointed to visible boot prints in the sand. "Looks like Jedi tracks."

"Jedi tracks?" I ran over to where they were standing. Sure enough, there were boot prints in the sand.

"See, here," Track pointed to the sand. "Was where she fell, pretty hard it seems. And she was wearing a skirt."

"Why do you say she?" Jinx doubted him. "How do you know?"

Track ignored him and continued walking by the trail in the sand. "This happened yesterday. And then she stood up, walked over here, and slept for the night. She walked over here…" He pointed to the sand again. "And she is bleeding," he knelt down on the ground, motioning to a discolored patch of dirt. "But she kept walking, and…" He walked around a rock. "Here she is."

We had walked over a mile or two away from where the explosion happened. The troops, Aayla, and Shaak Ti had followed Track to the rock, and when he came around the other end, they all started to cheer.

I caught up to where the rock was and came around the corner. "Barriss?"

"Master!" She stood up from where she was sitting, leaning on the rock. I went to hug her, but she went dizzy and fell down again. "I haven't had water… for so long." She panted.

"Tailer!" Jinx's stern voice called for the medic. "Rig her up."

Tailer emerged from behind Jinx and then pulled off his back pack. "Let me check your fluid level." He used a small lance to prick her finger.

"Master, I am so sorry…" She tried to apologize while Tailer was working on her. "I left the pack and got three clones killed," She explained, and then she started to cry. "I feel so horrible, like a mean angry miser that doesn't care for anyone."

She was such a sweetheart.

"Barriss," I tried to console her. Aayla sat down next to me. "Loss is part of life, fate, the way it changes things, is part of life." I explained again.

"But, Sith, they can control fate, right?" Aayla asked. "Vos told me that they could."

This was no time for an in-depth discussion on the Dark Side of the Force. And why was Vos telling Aayla that sort of thing? "We can meditate on this later, Secura. Right now we need to move."

Tailer was wrapping up Barriss calf where a bullet had grazed her. It was a deep cut, but not too bad, luckily and I knew that it would soon heal. She could walk on it, and the sooner she got up the better. We had to move.

"Barriss, do you think you can walk for me?" I tried to persuade her. "We need to get back to the ship as soon as we can."

"Good point, Unduli." Shaak Ti added. "Let's get back to Coruscant. The Council can do the detective work on Fume."

Aayla rolled her eyes. "We only just go back from there."

"Come on, you two. We have a long way to go before the darkness falls." Gree was standing behind Tailer. "Let's hurry on back to our ship."

"Seems as though we've done a lot of hurrying today." Aayla got up off of the sand and then helped Barriss. My Padawan faltered a bit before taking her first step. "Hey, can you stand?"

"I can stand well enough." Offee replied politely.

"Careful," Tailer warned. "Your leg can't stand much stress."

"Leave her alone, Tailer." Jinx replied haughtily. "Jedi can do anything."

And that's how we made it back to Coruscant safe and sound. With minimum loss and maximum efficiency, we made it back to the ships and in no time made it back to Coruscant too. Jinx made a motto for himself and shared it with Gree and Bly by the time we got there.

It was, a good job is only done by good men.

I couldn't have agreed more. After this, Barriss did achieve the rank of Jedi Knight, acing all of the trials and using the Force as well as she could. I was proud of her. We had been through a lot together and I was happy for her.

She was the perfect Padawan. Never doubting, taking every order, and never arguing. I wish that I could say that for every Padawan.

I often wondered if there wasn't more that we could do in that mission. The Council told me not to worry and that they would do all of the work on Fume, and that they didn't need my help.

I knew that I had uncovered an 'egg' of information that would most certainly grow until it hatched later and caused worse problems.

Quinlan Vos came back and made up with Aayla for leaving her alone on a mission. I warned him that Aayla was extremely emotional and that he needed to work on that with her. He promised me that he would and basically shoved me off of him.

He dismissed it as being in her nature. I never dismissed anything with Barriss and she seemed to turn out as the best. I told the council about it and I later learned that Master Yoda saw to it personally after the mission was over.

Wow. That's feedback.

So, with the mission over and nearly everything solved, I say goodbye.

May the Force be with you, young Padawan. May you learn to live as best as you can with all control. Never stop learning, and never turn down the opportunity to learn.

Master Luminara Unduli

Go and read the second book


End file.
